This February, the Manoel Theatre presents two concerts featuring the Welsh Musical Theatre Orchestra and established West End Singers, joined by some of Malta’s finest local talent. We stopped to catch up with the orchestra’s conductor Andrew Hopkins about this evening of musicals.
Andrew Hopkins graduated from the GSA Conservatoire in 2004, where he was the Sean McGrath scholar. He has worked with some of the biggest names in musical theatre, including Dame Julie Andrews, Dame Angela Lansbury and Leslie Bricusse.
As musical director, Andrew has worked throughout the UK and internationally on a variety of musicals, including in London’s West End. He regularly works at leading UK drama schools and provides masterclasses all over the world.
You can follow Andrew on Twitter @andrewhopkinsmd
Where did the idea to start a musical theatre orchestra come from?
The first musical I ever listened to a full recording of was Martin Guerre, which is from the same team that wrote Les Misérables. I spent months listening to the cast album. In fact, I almost wore out the CD.
I loved the sound that the orchestra made to match the drama of the storytelling. When I saw the production in the West End it was a great joy to find the same sized orchestra playing the songs and it was an experience that I, as a teenage boy, found emotionally overwhelming.
Working as a musical director within the confines of limited budgets, I always found myself rescoring shows for a smaller orchestra. So, when I set up the Welsh Musical Theatre Orchestra, the sound of the full orchestra was the overarching priority for me.
A first-class, glorious sound from the orchestra, the sheer brilliance of West End singers, and your favourite show songs
This, of course, backfired tremendously when I chose Rodgers and Hammerstein for the first concert. It required a 75-piece orchestra to get that Golden Age music to sparkle – but we went ahead, despite the financial implications.
The concert was a huge artistic success and it helped the orchestra go further, with exciting projects (which were more carefully selected in terms of the orchestra size). Now, we create the magical sound of some of the most popular musicals with a core ensemble size of 24, adding more players when needed.
How is the Welsh Musical Theatre Orchestra different from other orchestras?
Very early on, I decided that the orchestra should have its own personality and sense of humour. So, we began involving the musicians in all aspects of the performance, including acting.
As well as hearing the music showcased expertly, the audience experience members of the orchestra singing, acting, even dancing during the evening. Previous concerts have seen sheet music thrown about the stage and instruments being swapped – a full-blown fight has even broken out among musicians and actors, resulting in instruments being smashed to pieces.
How long has this Maltese collaboration been in development and how was the idea conceived to hold a performance at The Manoel Theatre?
I first came to Malta in January 2017 to play for some cabarets. As I had plenty of free time, I went to explore some of the cultural highlights of the island.
One of these was the national theatre of Malta, the Manoel Theatre, where I was lucky enough to be shown around by Kenneth Zammit Tabona and Michael Mangion.
I was so impressed by the beauty of the building that I immediately started a campaign for us to visit there. The Manoel Theatre has been so supportive in producing our concerts and it has been a joy to discover the huge musical theatre talent that Malta has.
What can one expect from the Maltese double bill performance?
Firstly, expect everything that you would hope to experience from a concert of musical theatre: a first-class, glorious sound from the orchestra, the sheer brilliance of West End singers, and your favourite show songs. Secondly, expect everything that you would never imagine could happen at a concert of musical theatre; there will be hilarious comedy and mischievous musicians, not to mention the potential for complete anarchy.
A Night on Broadway and A Night at the West End play each day on February 9 and 10 at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta.
www.teatrumanoel.com.mt